


A Destiny Diverged

by crimmus



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: AU where pinestar didnt leave immediately :pensive:, Multi, first series canon divergence, i dont know how else to tag this sorry yall...., working title for this was "tigerclaw but he's handsome and good"
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28113777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimmus/pseuds/crimmus
Summary: Tigerclaw is, has been, and always will be a creature of ambition and fierceness. Unchecked and untrained, these qualities had the potential to lead his clan (and so many lives) to ruin. Pinestar had heard the warnings, but could abide by the choices StarClan has given to him -- while something indeed may be rotted to the core, it isn't his son.Tigerclaw must navigate a world that he was not meant to see - must protect a world he was made to dismantle. Strange dreams plague him, and plots unfurl before him.His future, and the future of the clans as a whole is unsteady and unsure.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	1. Prelude | A Dream and a Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha hi!  
> i wrote this over nanowrimo, and it IS actually done (kind of??? the way any warriors book is done tbh). it just needs some REALLY intense editing lmfaoooo  
> i said it at the start, but i'll say it again; this is a tigerclaw story where he's Not Evil. If that isn't your cup of tea, alrighty! probably this story isn't your cup of tea either!
> 
> i want to make a few notes here. I remember vaguely all the things i changed to make this story work, so i'll list the big ones here:  
> tigerclaw was not mentored by thistleclaw! he's retaining his suffix because changing it would be complicated and hrgh.  
> thistleclaw mentored brindleface, so i've changed her a bit too whoopsie!  
> oh god, i think i changed more things but im foolish and didnt write all the changes down anywhere, instead trusting my brain to remember. this was foolish.
> 
> alrighty. i'll have some more notes at the end. much love.

Pinestar stood alone in the dark. The ground beneath his feet seemed soft, like so much rotted meat. The air tasted thick, stale, and damp - though it had no discernible scent.  
A shiver ran down his spine, pelt spiking a small amount as he glanced about uneasily.  
Something was wrong, but he couldn’t fit a claw in it. 

The stench hit him like a crash of thunder from nowhere; blood and decay filling his nostrils and setting his fur on end. His eyes grew wide and without thinking - without seeing - he started to run. He squeezed his eyes shut; it wouldn’t make a difference, anyway.  
As he ran, the ground beneath him shifted from a mass of soft rot to small bones, crumbling beneath his pawsteps. Pinestar let out a cry of alarm as his eyes flew open and he found himself falling from a mound of desiccated bones.  
“Somebody, help me!”  
The words echoed around him, bouncing off of unseen boundaries and sliding into disturbing whispers that hissed in his ears.  
As he reached the bottom of the mound he scrambled to his feet again, spinning about desperately as confusion and distress near overwhelmed him.  
As he turned, a brilliant light seemed to appear from nothing, blinding him temporarily as a dark shape began to loom. Squinting his eyes, he took a cautious step forward. “Who’s there? What is this?” He called, fear gripping his heart.  
The figure paused, and for a moment Pinestar felt some semblance of relief-

Deep amber eyes glinted like fire, and claws flashed- and he was gone.

***

Pinestar stood shaking in his den. He saw his sleeping body before him, watched as his own paws twitched and his face furrowed with concern. He felt the movements mirrored in his current form.  
“You can stop this, Pinestar.” A firm, familiar voice spoke from behind him.

He recognized her voice immediately, but shifted to see her as warmth spread through him. “Thank the stars, I thought -” His voice shook, but Doestar spoke over him and looked beyond him. “We have seen what will come if you cannot stop him. I have shown you a small taste, but I fear it is worse than even we know.”  
He froze, watching her with careful eyes as anxiety clawed at him. “Stop who?” He asked softly, knowing the answer as surely as he knew the amber eyes and tabby pelt of-  
“Your son.”  
Pinestar didn’t move, still staring at Doestar, unwilling to believe that what she was saying.  
“My son,” He spoke slowly; carefully. “Is less than a moon old.”  
She did not flinch.  
“He will bring ruin to the forest, Pinestar.” She met his eyes. “A leader must make choices more difficult than any other cat can face.”  
Pinestar began to bristle. “This isn’t a choice, this is my family! You can’t expect me to-”  
“You must do what’s best for your clan, no matter the cost. This is the price of being a leader, Pinestar.” She paused, her strange star-like eyes staring at him. “Or have you turned your back on us?”  
Pinestar hesitated, a brief spark of an idea kindling in his mind before-  
“Your warning is appreciated, Doestar, and I will take care of it myself. Tigerkit will not become the cat you see; I swear it to you on my blood.” He tried to keep his voice from shaking. He would not kill his son - but he couldn’t ignore StarClan’s warning either.  
Doestar continued to stare at him for a few heartbeats before blinking and turning away.  
“See that he doesn’t. Many more lives than you know depend on it.” As she turned away from him, her form seemed to shift out of existence, and he breathed a sigh of relief.  
_'Tigerkit won’t become a monster, I’ll train him myself- I’ll make sure he understands how to be a good warrior- I’ll make sure he’s alright.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so! like i said, i do actually have the whole thing written. it DOES however need HEAVY editing and i don't know when i'll get around to that! for now i'm posting a small section of it, but all told (before revisions) there are 52k words and it follows pretty much the first book in the series (again, AU / canon divergence -- idk which it really is because it's an au where the canon diverged into something i thought would be fun to write). 
> 
> uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhghhhmghmmhhhh yeah. wrote this for myself cos i had been playing with the idea and all the changes i'd made for a few months before nanowrimo, and realized that if i didn't write it for nanowrimo i wouldn't write it period lmfao. excitingly enough, i didn't actually get to the point where my most excited changes were made! technically this is tigerclaw's story, but god i wanted to see some more of like. whitethroat.  
> chapter length may vary. I didn't break it up into chapters as i wrote it, so as i edit i'll need to peel through it and find good points in the storyblood to make into chapter ends.
> 
> if u read it and enjoyed! im glad! if u read it and u hated it. well. i sure did that :)


	2. 1 | Injuries and Kittypets

“What’s wrong with him? How long will he be stuck here?” Tigerclaw tried to keep the guilt from seeping into his voice, and the annoyed look on Spottedleaf’s face told him he’d done well enough.  
“I don’t know yet, you’re going to have to be patient, Tigerclaw. He’s in no state to train, and won’t be for some time.” She gave him a hard look. “He shouldn’t have been anywhere near that battle.”  
A pang of guilt shot through Tigerclaw’s heart. _I know,_ he thought. “It’s too late now.” He said.  
Spottedleaf’s eyes narrowed, her ears flicking back for a second. Then she turned away and padded back into the medicine den without another word. 

Tigerclaw padded towards the freshkill pile, wondering vaguely if Spottedleaf would reprimand him if he tried to bring Ravenpaw a plump mouse.  
_He has a taste for mouse like no cat I’ve met._ He thought with a twitch of his whiskers as he selected a juicy one and turned back towards the medicine den. Just for when he wakes up, keep him strong, get him back to training soon.  
“I have more important things to attend to than your mood, Tigerclaw.” Spottedleaf’s voice sounded from behind him, and he jumped, unsheathing his claws reflexively. “I was bringing some food for Ravenpaw- for when he wakes up.” He mumbled around the mouse, feeling frustrated by his aggressive bodily reaction.  
She sighed, her own mouth full of damp moss. She set it down inside the den, then gestured for him to come in. “He’s just behind Redtail, you can leave it there for him.” Exasperation tinged her voice, but Tigerclaw ignored it and shouldered through.  
_He looks so small._  
Tigerclaw stared at the curled form of his new apprentice, blood matted on his fur. He set the mouse down beside Ravenpaw, then started to back away but hesitated, unable to pull himself away from the injured apprentice.  
“You’re taking up half my den,” Spottedleaf prompted from behind him. Annoyed, Tigerclaw gave himself a brief shake, then padded from the den, giving Spottedleaf a sharp nod of thanks. 

Tigerclaw stepped out into the warm sunlight and gave himself a shake.  
_Ravenpaw is going to be fine. He tried to assure himself. He’d been injured worse, and the apprentice was young - he would be fine._  
He let out a heavy sigh and padded towards Darkstripe, “The freshkill pile is getting low, we should go-”  
“You should rest.” He heard Bluestar approach before he saw her. Tigerclaw grunted in return, “I’m fine. Spottedleaf already-”  
“Spottedleaf isn’t your leader.” Bluestar spoke evenly, though there was some reproach in her eyes. “As your leader, I’m telling you to rest for the day.” She paused, then dipped her head. “Redtail told me we have you to thank for his survival.” Tigerclaw bowed his head, a mixture of anger, frustration, and pleasure roiling inside of him. “I only did what anyone would have.” He mumbled, though Bluestar didn’t seem to hear him. “It’s unfortunate that Ravenpaw was caught in the battle, but I expect he’ll be back on his paws in no time.” She met his eyes, and he felt guilt claw at his heart. _It wasn’t my fault!_ He yowled silently.  
“In the meantime, you will be taking over the training of our newest apprentice, Firepaw.”  
Tigerclaw felt a small jolt of surprise, ears flicking. “Who-”  
“He joined us from outside the clans.”  
“He’s a kittypet.” Darkstripe slunk out from behind them, brushing against Tigerclaw’s shoulder as he strode past haughtily. “I’m going to hunt, since we’re feeding any damn stray that wanders in now.” Bluestar’s eyes grew hard, but she didn’t respond to his provocations, speaking evenly to Tigerclaw instead. “He agreed to join us, and we need new blood. As I said, you will oversee his training while Ravenpaw’s recovering. Once he can begin training again, you and Lionheart both will train him.” Tigerclaw settled back on his haunches, considering her words carefully.  
“Darkstripe doesn’t have an apprentice,” he half suggested, pausing before shooting a glance towards the dark tabby warrior. “But it would seem he’s already made his decision about Firepaw.”  
_I thought I taught him better than that - the new apprentice might be a kittypet, but he would have been a good opportunity for Darkstripe._ Tigerclaw blinked slowly. _His loss is my gain._  
“Some cats were more receptive to Firepaw’s joining of the clan than others.” Bluestar's eyes were trained on him, and he bowed his head.  
“Of course I would be honored, Bluestar. I can train a warrior from anyone, even as soft a cat as a kittypet.”  
Bluestar flicked an ear. “Good. I had hoped as much - I expected you might be more warm to the idea. Perhaps more empathetic, after what happened with your father.”  
Tigerclaw dipped his head, but didn’t respond. Her assumption wasn’t entirely true - his father had left the clan after completing Tigerclaw’s training, but rather than foster empathy for it, Pinestar’s decision had reminded the tabby tom what weakness kittypets were prone to foster.  
“It will be good for you to have an apprentice to train while Ravenpaw recovers. Something to keep you out of the medicine den - I saw you bothering Spottedleaf.”  
Bluestar’s words didn’t hold any accusatory tone, and her eyes seemed to glitter with amusement.  
Tigerclaw still flinched. “Of course, Bluestar.”  
“Lionheart and Whitestorm are showing him the territory now, tomorrow I expect you to begin lessons with him.” Bluestar was no longer looking at him, instead staring across the camp with a distant look in her eyes. She seemed to shake herself from it, standing and shaking the dust from her pelt. “StarClan guide us, Tigerclaw, this won’t be the last we hear from RiverClan. With Greenleaf barely a tail-length away...” She let out a sigh, tail twitching. “Get some rest, Tigerclaw. Firepaw will need you at your best if he’s going to learn.”  
Tigerclaw nodded, watching his leader with both curiosity and concern. They weren’t at their strongest by any means, but neither were the other clans. _Besides,_ Tigerclaw stood and began padding towards the clearing, having spotted Longtail, _if any of those tick-ridden excuses for warriors try anything, they’ll have to get through me._

He sat beside Longtail and began grooming the younger tom. “What got you?” He asked, his gravelly voice holding some small amount of sympathy.  
Longtail snorted, tail lashing angrily as he in turn began sharing tongues with Tigerclaw. “Mouse-dung is what happened,” he growled, “Bluestar let a kittypet into the clan. A kittypet! What are the other clans going to think?”  
“Did the kittypet tear your ear, or did you say something foolish to someone stronger than you?” Tigerclaw asked, a rebuke in his tone. Longtail glowered at him a moment, then huffed.  
“The damn kittypet got lucky! I had his tinkling-cry collar in my jaws and it snapped. It sent me almost flying backwards, and while I was trying to get up, he jumped me!”  
Tigerclaw felt annoyance prickle his fur. “Then do better next time. Underestimating your enemy will kill you someday, Longtail.” He hadn’t meant his words to be so sharp, but Longtail acting like a beaten apprentice grated on him. Longtail seemed taken aback, looking at Tigerclaw with his tongue partway out of his mouth and his eyes wide. He seemed to realize himself and gave a slight shake before glaring at Tigerclaw, “Just because you don’t have an apprentice to train doesn’t mean you get to start treating me like a ‘paw again.” He spoke haughtily, standing and stomping away with a feigned confidence.  
Tigerclaw watched him leave, frustration welling in him. Longtail was a fine warrior most days, but his sharp tongue and bitter need to prove himself annoyed Tigerclaw. _If he’d just listen there wouldn’t be any problems._  
His choice of words bothered Tigerclaw too.  
_Just because I don’t have an apprentice..._ He felt a slight growl in his throat as he mulled the words over in his head. _I do have an apprentice. He’s injured, but he’s not gone._ Tigerclaw’s tail thumped angrily on the ground, his claws kneading the soft dust in the clearing.  
_I’ll be training Ravenpaw again soon enough._  
Tigerclaw stood, heaving a sigh before padding slowly towards the warriors den. It was only a few hours past sunhigh, but a nap wouldn’t do anyone any harm, and Bluestar wanted him in the camp ‘resting’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah. can u tell i have adhd????  
> oh also i tagged for graphic violence becos its warriors and i dont remember if i wrote any graphic fight scenes but i figured better safe than sorry. thats for the overall story. but u kno  
> also i have no idea how to make ao3 formatting look. idk good. so. whoopsie!  
> edit: untagged graphic violence. i thought abt it more and i dont think there is any and honestly if there is i can either retag at that point or edit it so there isnt :pensive:


	3. 2 | Could Have Beens and Losses

Tigerclaw slept poorly that night. The battle had exhausted him, but his mandated in-camp rest seemed to encourage his thoughts to pester him throughout the entire day. He couldn’t keep his mind focused on any one problem- on any one situation. Instead, he raced over each problem as they ran in circles around his head.

_Ravenpaw is injured, I didn’t protect him. Oakheart was trapped - could I have stopped that? Will RiverClan blame us? Is it our- is it my fault? I have a new kittypet to train; if he can’t cut it, will that be my fault?  
If I had let Redtail die, would I be deputy?_

His mind kept circling back to this final question, and it terrified him. His father had warned him - had been sure to instill in him that these thoughts didn’t define him. Good cats thought terrible things, but the difference between a good cat and a cruel one was what they chose to do with these thoughts when the choice was set before them.

_What does it make me, then? I might not have done it in the moment, but I can’t help but wonder - can’t help to play with the idea of what might have happened if I had. Would I be better for it? Would Bluestar have made me deputy?  
Would that have helped to keep ThunderClan safe? Perhaps it would have sated whatever blood price RiverClan must now imagine we owe to them._

It shook him, both how much effort it had taken for him to dismiss his thought in the moment, and how much he had now ruminated on it. A good cat wouldn’t find himself regretting having saved a life, would they?

So it was that when Tigerclaw finally slipped into sleep, his dreams were plagued by the scent of blood and the howling sound of battle around him. The world seemed to blur at the edges; nothing focused quite right, and when he tried to look more closely the images seemed to slip away from him.  
A few times he tried to intercede in the battle, but every time he came near they images faded to nothing, leaving the strange memory of a landscape in their place. He felt he should be afraid - or frustrated. But instead he found himself...curious. What had brought him here? Why? 

His ears twitched as he heard a yowl that felt familiar, and he turned his head - his heart began to beat a little faster as he recognized the small form of Ravenpaw, pinned beneath a large, thick-furred RiverClan tom. And suddenly there was no moment to hesitate. The image appeared so much more _real_ than anything else around them, and if it was real- 

Tigerclaw leapt, claws unsheathed and teeth bared in a furious snarl. His claws met fur, and he sunk them as deep as he could before throwing his weight to the side, forcing the tom off Ravenpaw and to the soft, warm, and wet ground. The scent of blood filled his nostrils, but he couldn’t focus on that.  
“Run, Ravenpaw! Get out of here!” His mouth was full of fur, but he managed to warn-

The cat he had saved stared at him like they’d seen a ghost, and Tigerclaw stared back. Ravenpaw was gone - replaced by an orange-and-black tom he recognized as Redtail, golden eyes wide with shock and fear. Redtail crouched, fur bloodied and body shaking. Tigerclaw shook his shock away as the tom in his claws wrenched free, wriggling from Tigerclaw’s own grasp and slithering to the ground and back to his own paws. “Get yourself out of here then!” Tigerclaw snarled, righting himself and turning to face his opponent- his-  
He froze as the face of a dark tabby tom leered at him, amber eyes wild with rage, muzzle dark with blood. Tigerclaw watched as a reflection of himself, heavily scarred and wild looking, prepared to pounce.  
“What is this?!” He snarled at the near-reflection, not expecting an answer but demanding one nonetheless. He watched as the image seemed to flicker, then sneer back something- something unintelligible. Tigerclaw tensed, ears straining to hear the strange garbled noises as words. But as his own, living shadow spoke, it seemed to flicker and-

And fade away. The moment had passed, and Tigerclaw stood alone in a blood-soaked battlefield. He glanced to the ground, hissing in disgust as he became aware of the saturation of blood on the ground and in the grass. He could feel it matt in his fur where he had rolled, could smell in the air, could feel it under his paws, slipping and sticking all at once.   
He pinned his ears back, lip curling in disgust.  
It felt ... strange, different from any other dream he’d had in the past. Every warrior had odd dreams after a battle, but this --   
He shook his head. Something was decidedly off.

Then, in the distance, he saw a figure standing tall against the dim red light of sunset. He narrowed his eyes, and began to walk forward, tasting copper in the air even still as he left the battlefield. The oppressive feeling of being watched followed him, and felt the prickle of StarClan’s presence even here - though he could not find comfort in it.   
Did they watch him dream? Did they know his cruel thoughts? Pinestar had told him that thoughts did not make the warrior; that it was what they did with them which counted. 

But Pinestar did not speak for StarClan - Pinestar had made his disdain for the Warrior’s way of life clear enough when he had left them for the shameful life of a kittypet.   
Tigerclaw walked faster, feeling the soft warmth of blood beneath his paws grow cooler and firmer - slowly return to the comforting and normal feeling of earth and grass. The world lost the red hue that had been bathing it, and he felt a semblance of normalcy return. If StarClan watched, they would watch the mind of a warrior, not the mind of a killer. He looked towards the nearing figure, watched as it stared at him but a moment from the top of a grassy hill, then slipped down and out of sight on the other side. 

“Wait!” Tigerclaw called sharply, feeling an urgency he had not known until now. It became important, vital even, that he know who this figure was, and what this dream had been. 

He reached the top of the hill, and as he looked over he saw a sprawling mass of strange structures that sent a sickness through him. The endless expanse of Twolegplace was a thing that haunted him - memories of his first watch after being made a warrior sent shivers down his spine; the knowledge that his father had been making this very journey as he watched over the clan Pinestar had forsaken.  
And, of course, the countless times afterward when Tigerclaw had traveled to the edge of this abyss and wondered what would happen if he stepped into it. Would he have found his father lost within the labyrinth? Would he lose himself in it as well?

Today, he didn’t have to make that choice. The figure sat at the very edge of this endless sprawl, tail curled neatly across his paws. Waiting.  
Tigerclaw approached, trepidation tainting his steps. And as he drew near, the figure grew ever more familiar, ever more-

“Pinestar?” Tigercaw meowed cautiously. He was only a few tail-lengths away now, but he had stopped - afraid that if he stepped closer, the figure would fade just as the images before.  
But his voice seemed lost, taken by the wind and scattered to the skies. The figure’s ears tilted towards him, but there was no other indication that he had heard.  
Stepping forward felt like wading through a river, and Tigerclaw cursed himself for being so afraid.  
But forward he stepped, and Tigerclaw’s suspicion was made reality. “Pinestar!” He cried, suddenly an apprentice again. Pinestar shifted, a comfortable smile on his muzzle. “I’m just Pine now, Tigerclaw.” He greeted with a gentle correction, green eyes bright as they had ever been. Tigerclaw moved beside him, though he could not abandon the unease that prickled on his shoulders. “Pine...that’s a lonely name if I ever heard one.” He glanced at his father, looking for a reaction - for anything.   
“Maybe, but it’s mine.” Pine’s voice was calm, peaceful even. He stared out across the Twolegplace, and Tigerclaw felt his nervousness turn to frustration clawing at his fur. “It wasn’t always. You can’t turn your back on everything you used to be - you can’t just walk away from-”   
“But I did. There isn’t really a ‘can’t’ here, Tigerclaw, it’s done.”   
As Pine spoke, Tigerclaw’s fur began to bristle. His voice was so even - did his father not have any regret? Not even a little?   
“You _left_ us!” He growled, feeling his heart begin to beat faster.

“I missed you.” Pine’s simple words ignited something in Tigerclaw. He felt stunned, and more than that, he felt furious.  
“You wouldn’t have had to ‘miss me’ if you’d just _stayed!_ ” Tigerclaw clenched his jaw, tail lashing back and forth on the ground. How could Pine be so clueless? So foolish?  
But Pine didn’t seem to notice Tigerclaw’s frustration.  
“I know. But I didn’t stay, and so I missed you.” He paused, glancing to Tigerclaw and flicking an ear. “Tigerclaw, does dwelling on this teach you anything? Is it useful to you, or does it just hurt?”

“That doesn’t matter, if it hurts then that’s your fault. You swore you would be a warrior - you swore you would protect your clan, even at the cost of your life! That was the oath; that was the agreement! You can’t _decide_ you’re done and leave everyone you know and-” Tigerclaw felt his claws slip from their sheathes, fur standing upright as he spoke before Pine interrupted.

“I left. But you can’t base your life on a promise you made before you knew what it would mean.”  
Tigerclaw stood finally, lips drawn back in a snarl, an anger he hadn’t known he’d harbored reaching its peak.   
“You were a warrior! You trained for moons to understand it, you can’t give me that mouse-dung and call it truth!”

Pine simply stared at him, calm as still water. “I had. And in that moment when I spoke the oath, what I said was true. It was true to me, and I lived most of my life with it. But ...” The calm exterior of his father began to crumble, and as Pine met Tigerclaw’s eyes, he saw the face of a tired old cat.   
“I could only give so much, and they always asked for more, Tigerclaw. They will always ask for more, and your reward will be a spit in the face.”   
Tigerclaw stared at him. The fire his anger had sparked in his chest died into something quieter. Still hot, still painful, but softer. When he growled, his voice held more hurt than anger. “Then you give it! You give everything and more! That’s what you’re supposed to do; stars, when did my father become this selfish coward?” Tigerclaw heard his own voice break, and felt shame as he tore his eyes from Pine’s.  
Pine seemed to mirror his motion, looking away from his son; though Tigerclaw did not see any shame in his green eyes. “There are some things you can’t give up, Tigerclaw. Someday I expect you will understand this. Someday.”   
He stood, and Tigerclaw scrambled to his feet, a sudden desperation clawing at him. “So I’ve said something you don’t like, and you plan on running away again? I should have expected it from you.” Tigerclaw’s words were harsh, almost panicked, and Pine turned. He looked at Tigerclaw with weary eyes. “Our time is short, Tigerclaw. But I am proud of you. I am more proud of you than you could know; burn the stars, I am happy to have raised you.”   
Tigerclaw froze, his heart aching. “Where are you? Can’t you come back? You wouldn’t be leader, but Bluestar is patient, she-”   
Pine stepped towards the Twolegplace, his voice little more than a whisper. “I am dead, Tigerclaw. And I am ... where I am meant to be.” He paused, unaware of the shock he had just imparted upon Tigerclaw. Pine glanced back towards him a final time, “I am always with you, Tigerclaw. And if the whole world turns its back on you, you can sleep knowing you are not alone.”  
Tigerclaw watched, numb as Pine disappeared into the dark maze of twoleg architecture, vanishing into a strange, dangerous, and alien world.   
His father was dead. His father had stepped away from him one last time. How terrible, how cruel, how incredibly unfair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these scenes felt so self indulgent to write but GOD were they fun. hehehehehe. yeah....yeah.................


End file.
